Summer Britcher is first luge athlete to qualify for U.S. Olympic team

By OlympicTalkJan 2, 2022, 1:58 PM EST

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Summer Britcher is going to her third Winter Olympics.

The 27-year-old on Sunday became the first luge athlete to clinch a spot on the U.S. team for Beijing.

Britcher qualified via a combination of her sixth-place finish at last season’s world championships and a fifth-place World Cup finish Sunday in Winterberg, Germany.

Britcher was 19th and 15th at her first two Olympics in 2014 and 2018.

Her five career individual World Cup wins are a record for an American luger. That includes the last win for any American in January 2018.

She is the lone American to make a World Cup podium this season, outside of the relay, taking second in a sprint event last month.

Erin Hamlin, who in 2014 became the first American to win an Olympic singles luge medal, retired after the 2018 Olympics.

The full U.S. Olympic luge team will be announced after next week’s World Cup stop. It will likely also include, among others, 2018 Olympic silver medalist Chris Mazdzer in men’s singles and doubles and Emily Sweeney, the 2019 World Championships bronze medalist.

Germans Johannes Ludwig and Julia Taubitz lead the men’s and women’s World Cup standings. In doubles, Latvian brothers Andris Šics and Juris Šics are in the top spot.

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2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 3, 2023, 1:48 PM EDT

At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, is her top remaining challenger in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round. No. 4 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who has three wins over Swiatek this year, withdrew before her third-round match due to illness.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 3, 2023, 1:48 PM EDT

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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

No. 12 Frances Tiafoe is the last American remaining, looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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